Charity is on shopping list

7:10am Sunday 21st October 2007

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A UNIQUE website that aims to generate £100,000 a year has been launched.

Software consultancy Purepages Group, has developed The YShop to raise funds for the Blackburn branch of the YMCA.

The Yshop is a website which allows people to buy goods online at the normal price from leading retailers who then donate a percentage of the sale to the YMCA.

The website is the first of its kind in the country.

Companies pay a fee to sign up to the site and shoppers can chose to be redirected to retailer's homepage.

The theory is the more traffic generated the more people will buy goods so businesses can afford to donate a percentage to charity which is dependent on the amount spent.

Over 81 per cent of the money raised will go to charity with the remainder going to Purepages.

Already about 30 leading retailers including John Lewis, Asda, Tesco, Waterstones and Play.com have signed up.

Mike Phillips, 58, from Edgworth, managing director of Purepages, said the website had been two years in the planning and the firm is developing similar sites for charities nationwide.

He said: "I am trustee of the Blackburn YMCA and I started thinking of ways how I could make them money.

"People purchase a TV, book, CD or whatever they want at the normal price then a percentage goes to charity.

"In essence it is giving money for nothing.

"When we get the customers up there is no reason people should not go to the Yshop to buy goods because it is generating money for charity and not costing them anything.

"We would be disappointed if we did not raise £100,000 a year for Blackburn YMCA through this."

Purepages was set up in 2000 by Mr Phillips and was based at Eanam Wharf Business Centre, before the company, which employs 10 people, moved to Bolton earlier this year.

Blackburn's Yshop went live on October 5 and has already attracted a number of customers.

Another website nice2give is also about to go live which will allow people to chose which charities they want the percentage earmarked for good caused to go to.

For more information visit www.theyshop.com.